HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENT, RECORDING, REPORTING … · • teacher Assessments at the end of KS3 for all subjects • unit/modular tests in some subjects • annual examinations

Staff Handbook\Section H - School Policies and Procedures\Non Statutory Policies\Assessment Recording and Reporting and Target Setting Policy 2012 Reviewed : Spring 2012 By:GCL

Date for Next Review: Spring 2015

1

HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL

ASSESSMENT, RECORDING, REPORTING AND TARGET SETTING POLICY

There are four sections to this policy:

1. Rationale and Aims

2. Practice in the School

3. Responsibilities and Duties 4. Appendices

1. RATIONALE AND AIMS

“Overall the purpose of assessment is to improve standards, not merely to measure them”

“The quality of assessment has a significant impact on attitudes to learning and on

attainment in schools by stimulating and challenging students to work hard and by

encouraging teachers to focus on how to improve the learning of individual students”

“The core purpose of assessment is to move students on in their learning”

Aims • to provide clear guidelines on the Helsby High School’s approach to assessment,

recording, reporting and target setting

• to establish a coherent approach to assessment, recording, reporting and target setting

across all faculties

• to provide a system that is clear to students, staff, parents and other stakeholders

• to monitor and record students’ progress

Rationale

• assessment is demanded by everyone

• assessment should inform teaching, learning and progress

• assessment should be manageable and useful

• assessment has to give understandable information to everyone

• assessment has to help set achievable targets for future improvement

• assessment has to give information about strengths and weaknesses

• assessment has to compare achievement and progress against prior attainment between

students

• assessment has to evaluate the success of teaching strategies providing an indication of

what works and what does not work

• assessment has to be positive, provide motivation and the hope of a successful way

forward

• assessment has to involve students and should include them assessing their own work and

the work of others

Assessment must be:

• manageable and useful

• a reliable source of information

• positive and support success

• understandable to students, parents and teachers



2

• an essential part of teaching and learning • in line with National Curriculum requirements

Purposes of Assessment

Assessment may be used in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes.

It may be:

• Formative

recording what has been achieved, what needs to be done next and setting realistic,

achievable learning goals to enable the students to reach their target grades for the future

• Summative

recording a student’s overall achievement

• Diagnostic

identifying a learner’s strengths and weaknesses which prompts appropriate guidance and

support

• Evaluative

providing information that would help to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and

the success of teaching strategies

• Informative

providing information for reports to parents

The most important purpose of assessment is to try and motivate and encourage by:

• involving students in the learning process through explaining the reasons for the

assessment and its relationship to the course

• recording positive achievement which contributes to a summative statement

• making sure that students are fully aware of assessment objectives and the criteria for

success

• discussion of performance and establishing clear, achievable targets for students

2. PRACTICE AT HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL

(i) Assessment in Lessons

There are a range of processes to inform and improve student progress:

• a variety of assessment formats are used including practical work, student

presentation, coursework, fieldwork, written exercises, group work as well as

informal assessment such as question and answer

• minimum targets are available for all students in either National Curriculum levels

or GCSE grades

• there is a termly review of progress against targets of all students in all subjects by

subject teachers

• termly reviews will inform the Heads of Department in their decision to review

student groupings which can take place termly, with reports to Line Managers

• records of all assessments including regular marking should be kept by all

teachers in either a written or electronic format and should be available for

reference to subject leaders and members of the Leadership Team

• end of unit/module tests are used to gather summative assessments. Such tests

must be used to inform teaching and identify gaps in students learning

• schemes of work should indicate key assessment points and their contribution to

the review of student progress



3

• lessons should provide opportunities for self and/or peer assessment which allow

students to review the extent to which they have met the learning objectives

• students must have access to level/grade descriptors to aid their learning. These

descriptors should be on display in teaching rooms and can be in student’s books

(ii) Formal Assessments

Are undertaken throughout the student’s time at Helsby High School with data used

to inform progress.

We aim to gather a comprehensive range of prior attainment data on entry to the

school. Where it is not available we refer to universal baseline assessments carried

out by the SENCO and team.

Data collected includes:-

• Key Stage 2 results

• teacher Assessments at the end of KS3 for all subjects

• unit/modular tests in some subjects

• annual examinations for all year groups

• assessing pupils’ progress (APP) criteria in English, Maths, Science and ICT

(iii) Target Setting

An essential part of improving achievement is to agree targets with each student that

are aspirational. Targets and progress being made towards them will be discussed

regularly with students and their parents.

• Targets set should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and

time limited.

• At least one student progress target is agreed with each teacher as part of the

Helsby High School’s Performance Management Policy.

• Parents receive information about progress of their child against agreed targets

regularly through the school reporting schedule and parents consultation meetings.

• The governing body receives information on progress throughout the year to

enable it to make informed decisions when agreeing targets and monitoring and

evaluating progress.

(iv) Reporting

Is in a variety of formats

• interim summative reports for all students (two per annum)

• a full formative report once per year

• a Parents Consultation Evening once per year

• the publication of teacher assessments for all subjects

• the publication of GCSE results

• Helsby High School Annual Awards evening



4

(v) SEND

The SENCO and team use the extensive data from primary school to highlight any

pupils who may require further support. If necessary, the following diagnostic tests

are used:

• The WRAT3 and NMRA are used to measure progress.

• The BESD provides baseline assessments to identify problems and to measure

outcomes.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The LA will by agreement:

• support Helsby High School to deliver all aspects of the Policy

• assist the school in setting realistic targets for achievement in both Key Stage 3 and Key

Stage 4 and KS5

• monitor the effectiveness of the school by measuring the value added component

• assist in the provision of INSET needs

The Governing Body will:

• support the school to deliver all aspects of the Policy

• ensure that the Assessment Policy is regularly reviewed and updated

• set realistic targets for achievement at Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5

.

The Leadership Group will:

• undertake a regular review of the Policy through inspection and ‘Specific Reviews’

• support and monitor the different staff teams in the implementation of assessment,

recording and reporting practices

• be responsible for the maintenance of the SIMS Assessment Manager and Bromcom

database

• ensure that there is a coherent strategy for the effective management of performance

data

• set evidence-based student progress targets which are agreed for all students in all

subjects. These targets are reviewed annually

• monitor student progress towards their targets

• ensure staff receive training on the interpretation and use of data to inform their

planning

• periodically measure the ‘value added’ of individual students and groups in order to

recommend whole school targets for achievement to the Governing Body.

• make use of RAISE online, FFT, Alis and other sources of data to assist with the target

setting process across the school

Heads of Department will within their subject areas:

• support Department members in the implementation of the Policy

• ensure that their Assessment Policy is regularly reviewed and updated

• plan assessment opportunities into their schemes of work and regularly evaluate their

effectiveness



5

• establish agreed subject criteria for assessment and marking which conform to whole

school guidelines and meets the criteria for APP

• monitor the consistency of assessment and marking.

• ensure that assessment information is systematically recorded and appropriate

information provided for the SIMS Assessment Manager / Bromcom database

• analyse performance data, monitoring progress of students towards their targets

throughout the year

• use assessment information for setting students

• agree their subject contribution to the assessment of cross-curricular themes such as ICT

and citizenship

• identify the INSET needs of their team

• maintain a portfolio of assessed work to ensure consistency of standards

• ensure that their Department meets the report deadlines and standards

SENCo will:

• analyse performance data and monitor progress for each SEN student

Subject Teachers will:

• gain the necessary expertise and knowledge about data analysis through training

• ensure that students have a clear understanding of the assessment criteria (NC levels,

GCSE and AS/A2 grades)

• regularly assess and mark students’ work employing a range of assessment styles

• use the results of all assessments to monitor progress and plan future learning tasks

which match student capabilities

• motivate students by giving them a clear picture of their level of performance, what they

have done well and what they need to do better next time

• contribute to the assessment of cross-curricular themes e.g. ICT and citizenship • celebrate success in meeting targets using the School’s reward systems

Form Tutors will:

• ensure that student files are kept up-to-date

• undertake mentoring interviews following the school’s guidelines

• be responsible for ensuring that the different types of report for their tutor group are

correctly completed

• monitor progress on a regular basis (including the regular checking of pupil planners)

Students will:

• regularly review their work and negotiate learning targets with their subject teachers

and form tutors and record the information in their planners

• ensure that targets are recorded in their exercise books as appropriate

• seek advice about what to do to improve

• immediately act upon the advice given by their teachers



6

Parents will:

• be involved in regular communication with the school in order to understand the

learning needs of their son/daughter

• assist their son/daughter in achieving the learning targets

• regularly monitor the use of the planner

• attend Consultation Evenings

Review date: Spring 2012

Next review date: Spring 2015

SIGNATURES

Head teacher ……………………………………………

Governor ………………………………………………… (Chair or named Governor)



7

APPENDICES



8

APPENDIX A

Reporting Staff Calendar 2011-2012

See separate Excel document

T:\Staff Handbook\Section H - School Policies and Procedures\Non Statutory Policies\Assessment

Recording and Reporting and Target Setting Policy 2012 Appendix A.xls



9

APPENDIX B

Assessment Data 2011 Strategy

Managing Assessment

Aim of the strategy

• To provide a system to monitor and record students’ progress which is clear to students, staff,

parents and other stakeholders.

An assessment system must be:

A system that really tracks student progress.

Used easily and frequently by staff.

A system where action follows the tracking outcomes

One that detects lack of progress

One that leads to intervention.

An effective system will:

Assess student progress a minimum of three times per year

Clearly demonstrate what happens to the assessment data

Have leadership group accountability

Have department accountability

Have Individual teacher accountability

Provide appropriate intervention

Involve all students

Current Position

We are a data rich school however; the data is not easy to access. Targets are set based on: FFTD

provides target grades for the end of each key stage in for KS3 and KS4. The Alis predictors, based

on average GCSE points score, provide the minimum targets at KS5. Students’ targets can be

increased to provide further challenge.

Progress is assessed three times a year and RAG rated. Student progress is monitored by teachers,

tutors and learning managers for each year group. Any students who are underperforming are

subject to intervention.

The story behind the under performance and the outcome of any intervention is not shared with

staff.

We need a system that is inclusive; accountable; effectively monitored and provides a data story for

any underachievement.



10

Process

After each assessment point, individual student progress is compared to their target grades

and the data is RAG rated by the data manager.

Any underperformance is identified his information shared with the relevant staff:

1. Subject teachers; Head of Department;

2. Tutor Learning Manager and Head of Year

The Key Stage Intervention group oversee the intervention and provides support for the

students and staff.

Subject staff will use the assessment data to track progress and plan intervention.

Learning managers work with their year teams to provide support for the students and the

departments. In addition, provide an overview for the intervention group.

The intervention group will provide information to Head of Year and SLT

Intervention is monitored by the department and the form tutor who report to the

intervention group and the learning managers.

Intervention groups

KS4: Core Heads of Department; Learning manager for Y11; SLT link

KS5: Head of Department, Head of Y12 Head of Y13; SLT link

Outcome

Any underachievement has a detailed but succinct commentary that takes account of any

academic or pastoral factors.

Clearly demonstrate intervention after the assessment alerts

Shows reaction to the intervention

Overall the purpose of assessment is to improve standards, not merely to measure them. The

quality of assessment has a significant impact on attitudes to learning and on attainment in schools

by stimulating and challenging students to work hard and by encouraging teachers to focus on how

to improve the learning of individual students. The core purpose of assessment is to move students

on in their learning.

GCL November 2011

APPENDIX C

Target Setting Summary 2011

Year Target Based

on:

Information Target Set SIMS BROMCOM

7 FFTD Not in school yet. FFTD provides the minimum

target grade at the end of KS3. The target can be

higher than the minimum by negotiation with staff

and student

2011

8 FFTD FFTD provides the minimum target grade at the

end of KS3. The target can be higher than the

minimum by negotiation with staff and student.

September 2010 Correct Correct



minimum by negotiation with staff and student










12 Alis The Alis predictors are based on the student’s

average GCSE point score and provide an AS

target grade. The target can be increased in

negotiation with student and staff

September 2011 Adjusted Nov 2011

correct

Correct

13 Alis The Alis predictors are based on the student’s

average GCSE point score and provide an A2

target grade. The target can be increased in

negotiation with student and staff


APPENDIX D

Plan for Target Setting 2011.2012

PLAN FOR TARGET SETTING

2011 – 2012

AIMS

To raise the profile of Target Setting across the school.

To increase awareness and understanding of the Target Setting process.

To involve subject staff, form tutors and pupils more in the Target Setting process.

MAIN FEATURES

To continue to use FFT ‘D’ as a baseline target in Years 7 – 11.

To continue to use ALIS in Years 12 and 13.

To identify specific ‘Target Time’ for each year group in conjunction with Reporting Schedule.

To introduce discussions between subject tutors and pupils and form tutors and pupils about targets.

To introduce a proforma for use during discussion time and for recording agreed targets.

To explore more form tutor time for Target Setting.

Proposed Timings

Year Group

Proposed Activity

Proposed Outcomes

Monday 18 July 2011 Year 10

Current Discussions with Form Tutor

Pupils provided with A5 copy of Progress

Review Sheet

Review of Targets

Suggested intervention strategies

Progress is evaluated

Academic targets set for

September 2011

Intervention strategies recorded

7 September 2011 Year 10 Pupils are given a copy of the FFT ‘D’ GCSE

Predictor for each subject on an A5 sheet to be

glued into planners

Form tutors explain these to pupils

These will be discussed with subject teachers

over the first two weeks in September

Pupils are informed about their

Predictor for GCSE

Week commencing

12/09/2011

Year 10 Discussions with subject tutors re target grades

Negotiation to raise their target using FFT ‘D’

Predictor as starting point

Targets recorded on proforma and glued in

subject exercise book or planner

Pupils are fully involved in the

target setting process and are

aware of targets in each subject

Targets are visible in subject

exercise book or planner

7 September 2011 Year 8

Year 9 Pupils are given a copy of their Agreed Target

Level for end of KS3 for each subject on an A5

sheet to be glued into planners

Form tutors explain these to pupils

These will be discussed again with subject

teachers in November before Interim

Assessments

Pupils are reminded about their

Agreed Target Grade for end of

KS3

September 2011 Year 12 Pupils and subject staff use chances graphs to

calculate provisional targets based on average

GCSE points score

These grades are checked by subject and form

tutors and an appropriate grade is agreed

Provisional grades may be amended once ALIS

target data is returned to school

Students are fully involved in the

target setting process and are

aware of provisional targets in

each subject

Proposed Timings

Year Group

Proposed Activity

Proposed Outcomes

October 2011 Year 12

Year 13

Consultation Evening for parents with form

tutors (same evening as Year 7) BTEC students

can also see their BTEC tutors at the Upper

Sixth Consultation Evening

ALIS target data (GCSE and test based)

returned to school

Targets and chances graphs explained in Year

12 assembly

Conversations with subject tutors to negotiate

targets (subject to minimum requirements).

Any changes to DB

Minimum target grades/chances graphs

recorded in student planners

Chances graphs and letter sent home to parents

(Progress discussed at Menai this year)

Upper Sixth Interim Assesssments process:

learning conversations with subject staff,

targets reviewed, grades and strategies going

forward agreed; staff fill in grades on SIMS;

meetings with form tutors to review overall

position; agreed targets from this meeting sent

home to parents

Upper Sixth Consultation Evening (1) – Year

12 BTEC students also invited

Proposed Timings

Year Group

Proposed Activity

Proposed Outcomes

Weeks commencing

31/10/2011 and 07/11/2011

Year 10

Year 12

Review discussions with subject staff re target

grades

Negotiation to raise the target using FFT ‘D’

Predictor as starting point

Any change in targets recorded on proforma

and glued in subject exercise book or planner

Lower Sixth Interim Assessments process:

learning conversation with subject staff, targets

reviewed, grades and strategies going forward

agreed; staff fill in grades on SIMS; meetings

with form tutors to review overall position;

agreed targets from this meeting sent home to

parents

Pupils are fully involved in the

Target Setting process and are

aware of targets in each subject

Targets are visible in book or

planner

Weeks commencing

28/11/2011 and 05/12/2011

Year 9

Year 8 Review meetings between subject staff and

pupils to focus on the current target.

Discussion – does the target need raising?

Copy of Interim Report given to form tutors

and then a subsequent meeting held between

form tutors and pupils to discuss overall

progress

Intervention strategies discussed where

necessary and recorded

Progress in each subject is

evaluated

Overall progress is discussed

Intervention strategies identified

Weeks commencing

28/11/2011 and 05/12/2011

Year 7 Review meeting with form tutor to discuss

Effort and Behaviour at the end of first term

Inform pupils about Target Setting after

Christmas

Application and Effort identified

and discussed

Awareness raised about targets

Proposed Timings

Year Group

Proposed Activity

Proposed Outcomes

January – March 2012 Year 11

Year 12

Year 13

Raising Achievement Plan implemented by

Head of Year and Form Tutors

Progress Review in A5 format in Planners

Intervention by HoDs for pupils not meeting

targets

Second Interim Assessment review cycle in place

before Consultation Evening with parents and

students (following Jan modular results).

Consultation Evening (2) following January

modular results; targets set for last 2 months of

courses.


Motivation is increased

Attainment is increased

Intervention strategies

implemented

Weeks commencing

09/01/2012 and 16/01/2012

Year 7 Discussion with Subject Tutors about targets

and target level using FFT ‘D’ predictor as a

starting point

Targets raised if appropriate after negotiation

Targets recorded on proforma and glued in

subject exercise book or planner

Pupils understand their target

level for end of KS3

Pupils are fully involved

Targets are visible in book or

planner

May – June 2012 Year 12 Full written profiles issues (to form basis of

2013 Higher Education references)

End of year progress is evaluated

July 2012

During Activity Week

Appointments to be made

Years 7, 8, 9 Review meeting with Form Tutors to discuss

progress


Review Sheet

Intervention strategies discussed and recorded

End of year progress is evaluated

Specific targets can be set for next

academic year

Proposed Timings

Year Group

Proposed Activity

Proposed Outcomes

16 July 2012

Year 10 Discussions with Form Tutor


Review Sheet

Review of targets

Suggested intervention strategies


Academic targets set for

September 2012

Intervention strategies recorded

July 2012 Evaluation of Target Setting process To further improve and refine

approaches to Target Setting

Documents

HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENT, RECORDING, REPORTING … · • teacher Assessments at the end of KS3 for all subjects • unit/modular tests in some subjects • annual examinations